How to Get a Coworker to Reply to Your Work Letter
You might think that sending work emails is the worst . Is not. This is the second worst. The worst part is waiting for people to answer your work emails. And some people just never answer, no matter how much you write. IT specialist Antoinette Maria wrote about one of these troubled colleagues , “Alex,” a contact from another team that is holding up the entire project.
Alex is not responding to my emails asking me to customize the integration. For the past 3 days, I have been sending out a follow-up email every day, and in the last email I sent a copy to our project manager and my supervisor. I’m very upset at the moment because this is not the first time Alex has done this.
Commentators have suggested a variety of tactics, a little carrot, a little whip, that can help you deal with Alex in your workplace.
Flatten your request
One of the most difficult tasks when replying to an email is processing information and determining how you should respond. Web developer Chris Rather suggests eliminating the need for this kind of analysis:
Be super- concrete in your email about what you need from Alex: “Can you please create new credentials for the Frob service and whitelist IP 123.23.45.223? Thanks in advance! “The fewer tests Alex needs to do, the more likely they are to take action. I usually send a list of what I need.
Bring the boss
Alex finally responded to Antoinette after she instructed her leader and project leader. Engaging your boss in a conversation can be risky because no matter how you present it, everyone will know what you are talking about.
So do it ASAP. As Will Smith once said, the time to go to a couple’s counselor is when you’re still happy. Get in the habit of using the CC lugs from the start, or at least any thread that might be taut. Then, when they really need to intervene, it seems more natural than a failure of the normal process.
Of course, now your boss will get a bunch of additional emails, but that’s their job.
Switch communication modes
Can you Slack? You can write? You can call? Is your Alex more likely to respond to these methods? Try. But only one.
Obviously, leaving unanswered messages in email and on another platform, no matter how justified, makes you sound a little crazy. So be careful. Apologize for the intrusion or give an excuse to switch modes. And importantly, you “switch” rather than “hoard until Alex cries.”
So hello! Moving to Slack so we can better meet this challenge. ” Or: “Switch to text so we can put it all together by the deadline.” Or: “Hi Alex! I called because we can probably fix it without a million emails. ” Don’t leave voicemail. Voicemail is just email, but worse.
Developer Patrick Minton suggests using a more formalized process system like your team’s Trello, JIRA, editorial calendar, or any other shared resource. This helps to present the problem as a task to be completed, rather than as a “conflict” between you and the recipient. It also poses a challenge for your team and your boss.
Meet face to face
On the other hand, email is already an unacceptable way of communicating, and reaching out to superiors can increase hostility. You may need to press the reset button. Chris suggests:
You need to find out for what emotional reason they are ignoring you and get them to give it up. Go in person and bring gifts so that Alex really feels appreciated and that you are grateful for their help. It helps to release a lot of psychological / emotional blockages.
Be polite
If you can’t meet face to face, at least try to ease the tension in your email: “Hi Alex! Sorry for all these requests, this is just a really important project. ” Swallow your pride and resentment and be friendly. You need to make the answer less stressful than not answering .
By being friendly, you also give your Alex a reset button, debt forgiveness. If you just corner them, it will be even more difficult for them to reverse, like a rat, a teenager, or Macbeth.
Whichever approach you choose, remember that you may have to deal with that person again. The happier everyone gets out of it, the easier it will be next time. Until the day you leave or Alex gets fired.